During the last days, the weather in the Douro has been very unstable. It quickly changes from clear to a heavy storm, similar to tropical countries. Temperatures move between 15ºC and 28ºC in the middle of the afternoon. And when it rains it seems like it is going to be the end of the world. Instead of working as a slow irrigation to our vineyards, this rain creates little streams of water going downhill as you can see in this photo. As I enjoy very much storms, I love this weather, but it is not good for the vines.
With the flowering of the vines finished so early (in the middle of May for the vines around the river) we may have an early harvest this year. This is explained by the warm Spring we are having together with a generous irrigation of the soil. So if you plan to come to the Douro for the harvest, this year you may have to anticipate your trip in one or two weeks. But we still have around 100 days left, time will tell…
Oscar
